"September is still a very much a summer month here in South Florida," said meteorologist Robert Molleda, of the National Weather Service, on Tuesday. "Some years, a rare early [cold] front makes it this far south, but that's the exception.''

The good news: while temperatures still will be steamy, they should be slightly lower than in August, the region's hottest month.

West Palm Beach was a relative dry spot, recording .37 inches more than normal.

Rainfall and temperatures are expected to be about normal September through November, the weather service said.

Last month's dry conditions largely were the result of the Bermuda High, a pressure system over the Atlantic, creating an easterly wind flow.

"This allowed the Atlantic sea breeze to penetrate well inland most days and focused the typical summer showers and thunderstorms over interior and western portions of South Florida," Molleda said.

Temperature-wise, Fort Lauderdale was slightly cooler than normal with an average of 83.5 degrees in August, or 1.1 degrees below normal. The average high was 89, the average low, 78.

Miami saw an average monthly temperature of 83.9 degrees, or .3 below normal. The average high was 90, the average low 79.

West Palm Beach, on the other hand, was 2.2 degrees hotter than normal with a monthly average of 85.2 degrees. The average high was 91 and an average low 80.

If those temperatures hold, it would be the city's hottest August on record. However the weather service suspects its temperature gauges at Palm Beach International Airport have been reading 2 degrees too warm.

"A check of the instruments will be performed in the coming days to determine if these temperatures need to be adjusted downward," Molleda said.